Side Story -Mother

"creak" A creak came out from the door, I knew that was my mother who came back.

I'm sure it's not those gangs who was coming, they might be shameless but they never miss their time. They only come on the last day of the week, if they are short of cash maybe come again on the third day, but never today.

"Welcome back," I said, she didn't reply she just nod her head and drag her feet in.

She works harder than anyone else in this city. work for the whole day in the workshop, producing those fine cloth exclusive to those men in the high castle. All those hard work just for some coin worth a hundred times less than the silk she made.

She was tired and exhausted but she still need to cook dinner. "May I help you?" I already asked this question for thousand times in the past, none of the requests was accepted.

As she said, "A son of a noble don't need to learn how to cook, but how to read and wield his sword." Although I never saw my father for even one blink, he left us even I was born.

Probably he still staying within the castle wall hoping it would keep him far from the fearsome raider from another city while wearing silk on his body and drinking wine with his mistress beside him.

My mother might still believe he would come back, one day. Bring us into the castle which can screen us from those mobs. But I doubt he will even take one step into this slum, that would smear his shoes. I hope that she knew that wheat can't grow in a swamp, just like a noble would never fall in love with the cottage.

"How was your study going? Is it good?" She asked me this question while my mind wandered around.

She turned angry and shout at me " Do you know how much these books cost? these are the best material you can find in this city! I spend the whole saving just that you can become an educated person! Don't think that looking at the cover would improve your intelligence!"

She is very angry, I look down at the cover of the books. "Uptown girls" it's had no intention of educating anyone unless they want to get laid. I want to tell her she gets scammed by the seller, but she won't believe me anyway, it's not like she can read, even just the title.

However I was quite impressed with the author, not everybody can write a whole series of 7 books just about their love story. "Written by Horatio Drake" I mark down this name.

"Yes, mother" I started to read the first page of the book, the setting of the main characters made me feel uncomfortable.

He is an Angles, the only Angles that I knew are living in the castles, ruling this city with joy while we struggling to survive. They even bring us to the battlefield and send us die for their goods, fortunately, the only man in my family was me, which is still a child.

I knit my eye brown, she thought I facing troubles on it "Do you facing trouble? I could ask the priest to solve for you." "Thanks, mother, but I can solve it myself." asking help from those priests was always risky, you had no idea what would they ask in exchange. It is even worst if you bring a romance and ask for a solution.

She nods her head and back to the stove, although it is just a pot hanging on fire, it's enough to get the job done.

I look at the wall behind me, it is full of marks from the knife. The only element that can tell us which day is it, I had no idea how long since the last time I saw the sunlight.

The cliff and the shadow of the castle stop us to look at the sun, neither does the weather allow us to do so. The sky of Charleston was covered in fog and clouds 24-7, the founder of this city had no doubt a huge hole on his head that allow his brain to fell out, no ordinary people would like to live in this weather.

"tek" It's the sound of the bowl knocking on the table, it's just a trunk of the woods but that's how she calls it. She always said, "you shouldn't eat and read on the bed" even our "bed" is just a pile of the haystack, but if it was her order I could just follow.

I look into the bowl, it contain some soup with flatbread, a roasted unfermented dough with only water and flour, but I never believe it only contain these two ingredients as the seller like to mix in some other thing to make it heavier. Sawdust, sand, rocks all depend on the morality and creativity of the burgher.

The soup also hardly fit into its name, with only cabbage leaves and some mushroom that might pick along her way home, but if it is compared to the one in front of her, is far more suitable to call mine as a soup.

She always takes the least although she works the most, it isn't that I don't want to share with her, but last time I try to offer her some of my portions, she pour all of the soup and said "Had it in your stomach or the soil.", after that I never try to offer her again.

I had a taste of the soup, it's plain, without any taste. Salt didn't present in the soup, a family that struggle to buy even a whole cabbage can neither afford a pinch of salt.

"get out you filthy peasant" suddenly, a huge roar comes from the door, the crippling door finally meets its end and fall apart. The mother quickly runs toward me and let me stay behind her.

From the back, I saw a bunch of people, but not the mobs that usually asked for protection fees, although even they have trouble protecting against the others. It's a bunch of soldiers with a badge on their cape, it's an icon of the electoral family.

"Order from the head leader, we need you to get out right now!" She also realized where they were from, surprisingly she stepped back and try to cover more of me.

"What did you come for? I already end any relationship with him!" She shouted, seems like something I knew is not accurate.

"What? you mean you had a relationship with the King?" The soldiers laugh loudly. King, a title I never heard during my whole life. In the past, anyone who dares to declare them as a king will quickly be wiped out by other city-states, no exception.

"Now! get out! either you die under my sword or you go out and cheer for the king, you would get some loaves of bread as rewards for whatever reasons."

I highly doubt any of the bread will remain in our hands afterwards but seems like we had no other choice.I look at her, she also knew it.

After couple second, she made her decisions, she carry my hand and step outside the house.She are one of the one who following the soldiers, she holding my hand tight, I can feel the sweat in her hand.

A king, it would be the first time I saw him, I wonder how he is.